German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday welcomed the agreement on a first phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan to end the war in Gaza.
“We are encouraged by the developments in Israel,” he said, while warning that the deal “is not really finalized yet.”
Trump announced earlier that Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas reached an agreement during indirect talks in Egypt.
Under the deal, all hostages held in Gaza are to be released, while Israel will withdraw its troops to a mutually agreed line. The agreement must still be approved by the Israeli government before it can be signed.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and the country’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, also welcomed the overnight breakthrough on Thursday.
“The agreement on the first phase means that the release of the hostages & a ceasefire are imminent,” Wadephul wrote on X. “Germany stands ready to support further steps towards peace.”
Seibert wrote: “Thank you to the peacemakers! It’s beautiful to wake up to the prospect of an end of the nightmare.”
He said he felt energized to work on Germany’s behalf toward peace, reconstruction and healing.
Franziska Brantner, the leader of the opposition Greens, said the agreement represented an “encouraging moment” but warned that pressure on both sides to implement it “must not let up.”
The German government has a key role to play in the “next steps on the way to real peace and a two-state solution” and must no longer slow Europe’s ability to act, she said.
An international reconstruction conference for Gaza will also be crucial, Brantner added.